It’s hard not to automatically succumb to a gender-discourse when speaking of Tokimonsta, considering how quickly she has become the Grand Dame of California’s Wonky-Glitch-Stotterbeat-Scene. Still, the native Korean has by now managed to clearly differentiate herself completely gender-unrelated from colleagues such as Nosaj Thing, Lorn or Flying Lotus. Her debut-album Midnight Menu stuck out from the rest of L. A.’s Beat Scene by its purged and non-hectic approach – a trait that has yet again struck in great clarity on Tokimonsta’s new EP Creature Dreams. Of course, there are also deep bass beats, foggy Mid-Fi-elements and synth-bleeps that seem to echo from another world, but Tokimonsta manages to get by with just very few musical levels when arranging her songs. This way, the tracks maintain their clear structures and textures, which makes her melodies become much more accessible then those by the other beat-makers, hiding behind endless barrels of sound. And yet, the songs on Creature Dreams have a pleasant disposition towards the effect that is created when waking from one of those spacy Wonky-Beats. The fact that all the tracks were recorded between 2 and 7 a.m. contributes to that atmosphere – especially the songs supported by the singer Gavin Turek procure the sentiment from a world between slumber and awakening.
Creature Dreams EP
